thrashing

noun

thrash·​ing ˈthra-shiŋ 

plural thrashings

1

: a severe beating or flogging

If a poacher was taken he was given a thrashing as well as being prosecuted with its consequent jail sentence.

—W. Mostyn Thomas

"They called her a little blue ragamuffin, father," said Harry, who ran in looking very angry. "But I have given it to them. They won't insult my sister again. I have given them a thrashing they will remember."

—Anna Sewell

2

: a dominating defeat of an opponent

… after going 6-5 on a tough road trip that concluded with 9-2 and 12-4 thrashings of the Giants last weekend, they were 57-41 …

—Phil Taylor

Examples of thrashing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The former started in the late 2000s and went on to offer a combination of thrashing and head-banging hardcore that bordered on punk. —Lawrence Burney, Pitchfork, 28 May 2025

The only noteworthy example came when David Moyes’ Everton finished in fourth in 2004-05 despite a goal difference of -1, although that figure is slightly skewed by a 7-0 thrashing by Arsenal in their penultimate game, when they were already assured of a spot in the Champions League qualifiers. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 16 May 2025

Sunday’s 9-3 thrashing of San Diego was the club’s seventh win over its first 40 games, the worst start in modern National League history. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 11 May 2025

Among those Cavs road wins was a 20-point thrashing of the Heat on Jan. 29 at Kaseya Center. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thrashing

• ashing
• bashing
• caching
• cashing
• clashing
• crashing
• dashing
• flashing
• gnashing
• hashing
• lashing
• mashing